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Russia fires missiles at ISIS targets in Syria

MOSCOW: A Russian warship and submarine have fired four cruise missiles from the Mediterranean at Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) targets near the Syrian city of Palmyra, the defence ministry said yesterday.

The strike, which Russian news agencies said was the first of its kind since November, was carried out by the frigate Admiral Essen and the submarine Krasnodar, and targeted militants and equipment in an area east of Palmyra, Reuters reported.

The defence ministry said the hardware and forces struck had previously been deployed by ISIS in Raqqa.

"All targets were destroyed," it said in a statement.

Russia had warned the US, Turkey and Israel before launching the missiles, the ministry said.

None of these countries have particularly close alliances with Russia - but they do have agreements on things like information-sharing, Al Jazeera reported.

It did not say when the strike took place, but Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had personally told President Vladimir Putin about the military action late on Tuesday.

The last time Russia fired Kalibr cruise missiles from its ships at militant targets in Syria was last November, the RIA news agency said.

Russia has been conducting a bombing campaign since 2015 in support of President Bashar al-Assad and has a naval contingent in the eastern Mediterranean to bolster its firepower.